Third Toledo SOUP set for Sept. 8

The “third helping” of crowd-sourced, microgrant dinner series Toledo SOUP will feature presenters trying to win support for projects as wide-ranging as refurbishing an Old West End basketball court to rescuing women from the sex trade. The event is set for 5-9 p.m. Sept. 8 at Toledo School for the Arts (TSA), 333 14th St. Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for children 12 and younger.

Five finalists will present their projects while attendees eat dinner and then attendees vote on a winner. The winning project is awarded the total admission collected, typically between $500 and $1,000, organizers said.

“There’s a nice mixture of different types of proposals,” said Emily Rippe, one of the event’s organizers. “I’m really looking forward to hearing from some of these presenters. There should be some really interesting ones — some I’ve never heard of before and some I’m very familiar with.”

The meal will include three choices of soup, including one vegan option. Farmers market salad and bread will also be served.

New this year, a free art fair and bake sale will be held prior to Toledo SOUP, from noon to 5 p.m. at TSA. The event was organized by Maxwell Austin, owner of Glass City Pedicabs and winner of the first Toledo SOUP in 2012.

“I was trying to think of a way to bring more people through the door. The more people who come, the more money the recipient is going to receive,” Austin said. “Hopefully when the art event is done at 5 p.m., everyone will go right into Toledo SOUP.”

Proceeds from the bake sale will go toward the Toledo SOUP recipient. Free-will donations will also be accepted for TSA as thanks for the use of the space, Austin said.

Austin, who used his winnings from the first Toledo SOUP to pay for pedicab insurance, said he believes in the mission of Toledo SOUP.

“This is your city. You have a civic duty to yourself and your neighbors to try to make Toledo an awesome place. For $5 you get to help Toledo be something greater,” Austin said. “There’s a whole lot of people with a lot of good energy trying to push Toledo into a good place. Toledo’s done a lot of good things for me and all I can do is try to do some good things back for it.

Organizers hope the third Toledo SOUP will be the biggest yet.

“There’s a lot more interest in this one than there was for the second one, so that’s encouraging,” Rippe said. “We just kind of took a break so we could all refresh and really do it right. We’re just really excited. It’s been about a year since this was put on. We want it to be the best ever.”

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